Mookie Betts 2020 season: Dodgers have 3 options, one will surprise you

Option 2: Extend Him

A more logical approach to pressing the nuclear button and trying to trade Betts would be to work out an extension before the 2020 season begins, if it does at all. The uncertainty surrounding this season and the ripple effects from lost revenues and a shrinking economy create the real possibility for a fragile free agent market next winter.

While Betts shrugged off the suggestion of an extension upon first arriving in LA, circumstances have changed drastically since then, with players being advanced money by MLB owners to keep their cash flow fluid until baseball returns.

Many believe it will take as much as $400 million to lock up the former MVP. Mike Trout set the market one year ago, signing a 10-year extension that turned into a 12-year, $430 million contract. Betts is the same age as when Trout signed his mega-deal, many believe he will fetch something similar in normal market conditions.

But what if most owners are recovering from a lost season in 2021? Will there be less suitors come the winter in an already small group of teams with deep enough pockets to make a play for Betts? Does this depress his value in the open market? Might he be willing to forgo the entire process to get paid now? It seems reasonable to think so.